Paneer Shawarma Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Paneer Shawarma is a vegetarian adaptation of the classic shawarma, where paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) is marinated in a spiced yogurt mix, then pan-fried or grilled, and wrapped in a flatbread with yogurt sauce, tahini sauce, toum (garlic sauce), or hummus plus veggies and pickles. This Paneer Shawarma recipe brings the traditional flavors of the Middle Eastern cuisine to life with its authentic mix of spices and herbs.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Marinating Time30

Total Time1

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Fusion, Middle Eastern, World

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings: Shawarma Wraps

Calories: 641kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For Marinade

3 tablespoons thick yogurt or 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt + 1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic - minced or garlic paste
½ teaspoon smoked paprika - optional
½ teaspoon sweet paprika or cayenne or kashmiri red chilli powder
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes - optional
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)
1 teaspoon Cumin Powder (ground cumin)
¼ teaspoon all spice powder (ground all spice)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (ground cinnamon)
¼ teaspoon cloves powder (ground cloves)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder (ground or grated nutmeg)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
¼ teaspoon green cardamom powder
salt - as required
¼ teaspoon dry ginger powder (ground ginger)
¼ teaspoon sumac - optional
250 grams Paneer - cut in squares or slabs

For Yogurt sauce

½ cup greek yogurt or thick yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice adjust
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon minced garlic or garlic paste
1 tablespoon coriander leaves (cilantro) oror parsley or dill, optional
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or as needed
salt as required

For Tahini sauce

½ cup tahini
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice or add according to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper
⅓ cup warm water
1 to 2 pinches of salt or add as required, optional

More Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil - for pan frying
2 cups lettuce - sliced, or add as needed
1 cup tomatoes - sliced and deseeded
1 cup onions - sliced
7 to 8 pickled gherkins or pickled cucumbers
2 tablespoon parsley - chopped or coriander leaves (cilantro)
½ cup cucumber - sliced, optional
4 flatbreads like saj bread or naan or large roti or 8 pita bread.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making Marinade

Mix the yogurt with the garlic paste, salt, sumac all the ground spices listed under 'For Marinade' section above in the Ingredients section.
Add few squares of paneer to the marinade and gently coat the paneer evenly from all sides.
Heat oil for frying in a frying pan or skillet.
Pan fry paneer on medium low to medium heat. Fry for about 3 to 4 minutes in total, giving about 2 minutes for each side to cook.
Turn over when one side is golden and fry the second side.
If there is any marinade left, add to the paneer when frying the last batch. Cook with the paneer and remove/scrape the masala bits from the pan. They are delicious. Mix it later with the fried paneer.
Set the pan fried marinated paneer shawarma aside. When warm or cool slice into batons.

More Preparation

Rinse, dry and chop lettuce.
Slice onions and tomatoes.
In the remaining leftover bit of oil in the pan, opt to sauté onions for 1 to 2 minutes just to remove their pungency. This is an optional step. You could choose to keep the onions raw if you like.
Next the sauces need to be made. You could either make both the tahini sauce and yogurt sauce mentioned in the recipe or opt to make either one, depending on the availability of ingredients.

Making Tahini Sauce

To make tahini sauce, in a small bowl, combine and mix evenly as well as thoroughly all these ingredients - tahini, minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper powder and warm water.
Keep the prepared tahini sauce aside.

Make Yogurt Lemon Sauce

In a small mixing bowl, mix really well greek yogurt (or thick yogurt), lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, chopped coriander or parsley or dill and black pepper powder and salt according to taste.
Set this tangy creamy sauce aside.

Assembling & Making Paneer Shawarma

Take one flatbread and place it on your work surface.
Spread tahini sauce first in a thin layer.
Next spread yogurt sauce. At this point you could add your preferred chilli sauce if you prefer.
Spread lettuce evenly.
Top with fried paneer shawarma batons or slices. Divide paneer into 4 portions and use accordingly to make 4 shawarma.
Top with the thinly sliced onions and tomatoes. Place some sliced pickled cucumber or gherkins.
Lastly sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves or parsley. At this point, opt to sprinkle some paprika, ground black pepper, sumac, zatar or chili flakes. If you like, add some feta cheese.
Fold into a neat roll and serve Paneer Shawarma Wraps straight away. Similary make the remaining 3 wraps and serve.
Enjoy the Paneer Shawarma Roll as is or with a side dip of the tahini sauce, yogurt sauce, chilli sauce or any of your preferred dipping sauces.

Notes

The more time, the better the paneer gets infused with the flavors of the marinade. 30 minutes marination also works well.
Use thick yogurt or greek yogurt which is sour or tangy. If the yogurt is not sour, add about ½ to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to it. You can add more lemon juice if needed according to your taste buds.
Use fresh paneer, preferably homemade. Chop the paneer into similar sized slabs or squares for even cooking. Make sure not to fry them for a long time as they will become chewy and dense.
Adjust the sweet paprika or red chilli powder as needed. You can add more of it for a spicier marinade.
I would suggest to pan fry the paneer instead of oven grilling them as cooking them on a tawa or frying pan is faster than grilling in the oven.
Fresh vegetables like onions, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, not only add a textural crispness but also tons of flavor.
I have used pickled gherkins but feel free to use pickled onions, cucumber, beets, carrots and turnips.
For the sauces, you could use either of these, the Yogurt Lemon Sauce and Tahini Sauce (that I have shared here) and Hummus. You could also add some harissa or your preferred chilli sauce.
For a keto or low carb version, serve the Paneer Shawarma with the vegetables and pickle like a salad.
To veganize the recipe, use tofu, unripe jackfruit, seitan, tempeh, soya chaap. Additionally use a plant based yogurt. For gluten-free preference, use a gluten free flat bread or serve with rice.

Nutrition